In a small silver amulet of just 3.5 centimeters Found in Frankfurt contains a rare Christian testimony that is arousing great interest among scholars of the origins of Christianity. Using computed tomography, the text written on a thin sheet rolled inside has been deciphered and its content has revealed that Christianity spread north of the Alps as early as the 3rd centurysooner than was believed.
In addition to being the oldest Christian text in northern Europe, “its interest lies in the fact that it is purely Christian and reflects a popular experience of Christianity“, something “very rare at this time,” according to Santiago Guijarro, professor of Theology at the Pontifical University of Salamanca and full academician of the Royal Academy of Doctors of Spain.
The amulet was found in 2018 on the outskirts of Goethe’s hometown, during excavations by the Monument Office on Heilmannstraße, where a cemetery from the ancient Roman city of Goethe was discovered. Nida. This city was one of the most important settlements in Roman Germany and today is considered one of the largest and most important archaeological sites in Hesse. Archaeologists found up to 127 burials on an area of about 500 square meters, with unusual grave goods made of glass, jewelry or even 14 pairs of shoes.
One of the tombs, number 134, particularly caught his attention. Dated between 230 and 270 AD by a cup of incense and a clay pot inside, contained the skeleton of a man between 35 and 45 years oldwho kept a silver capsule. The small container, which he probably carried in life, hanging from a ribbon around his neck, housed a thin rolled sheet, also made of silverwith a mysterious inscription.
The skeleton found in the tomb with the amulet under its chin
The piece was restored at the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum and microscopic and X-ray examinations already showed the existence of some traces engraved on the sheet. However, its fragility made it inadvisable for it to be physically unrolled. We had to wait until May 2024 for a modern computerized tomography machine Leibniz Archaeological Center in Mainz (LEIZA) will achieve it virtually, showing the 18 hidden lines of text. Ivan Calandra, head of the LEIZA imaging procedures laboratory, explained in a statement that The challenge was to unravel the surviving words from the rolled sheet, but also crumpled and pressed after about 1,800 years.. “Using computed tomography we were able to scan it in very high resolution and create a 3D model,” he says.
Virtual image of the unrolled sheet and transcription of the text
The archaeologist and expert in Latin inscriptions Markus Scholzprofessor at Goethe University in Frankfurt, later deciphered the fragmented text. «Sometimes it took me weeks, even months, to find the next idea. “I consulted experts in the history of theology, among others, and little by little we approached the text together until we finally deciphered it,” Scholz said.
Some lines of the margins were lost after centuries underground and although the proposed additions are open to debate, the text reads like this: « (In the name?) of Saint Titus / Holy, holy, holy! / In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God! / The Lord of the World resists all attacks (?) / setbacks (?) with [¿fuerza?] / The god (?) gives / entrance to well-being. / This means of salvation (?) protects / the person who / surrenders to the will / of the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, / since before Jesus Christ / every knee bows: those of heaven, / those of earth and / those under the earth, and every tongue / confesses (Jesus Christ)».
The deciphered message confirmed the protective purpose of the magical amulet, intended to scare away demons and protect its wearer. In the 3rd century BC the growing Christian religion was still suffering persecution in the Roman Empire. Amulets of this type have been documented, although its characteristics make it especially interesting.
«Refers to Christian beliefs and formulas only», an extreme “very rare at this time” because “normally amulets mix various deities,” explains the Spanish theologian Santiago Guijarro. “In fact, It hardly has a magical character. It is one of those amulets that Christian authors do not criticize.», he adds.
“Stranger still” is that it is written in Latin. According to Guijarro, the known amulets with Christian references were written mostly in Greek, with some words in Hebrew or Aramaic. “This contains some Greek words (the trisage: Holy, Holy, Holy) and the abbreviated name of Jesus Christ (‘nomina sacra’, which are typical of Christian manuscripts), although the formula used is peculiar…. Greek words are written with Latin letters.. A curious case of ‘code switching’ (use of more than one linguistic code).
The aforementioned trisagethe invocation ‘Holy, holy, holy’, It was only known in the Christian liturgy from the 4th century AD and the mention of Saint Titusstudent and confidant of the apostle Saint Paul, had also not been attested at such an early time. The message also contains at the end an almost literal quote in Latin of two verses from the letter to the Philippians (Phil. 2, 10-11). “It is a very early testimony of a translation of this text into Latin,” says Guijarro. Furthermore, although the Latin versions date from this time, “we did not know that they were known so far north,” comments the professor. The sophistication of the text indicates that its author had training and knowledge.
For the former director of the Spanish Bible Association, author of numerous articles and books such as ‘The first evangelization in the origins of Christianity’, the Frankfurt amulet also reveals a popular experience of Christianity. «Most of the news we have from this time comes from cultured texts and authors», but «In this text there is an experience that is more closely linked to everyday life.».
The piece has been on display since December 18 as part of the permanent collection of the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum, which considers it «one of the most important proofs of early Christianity in the world».
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